NEAR IS THE NEW FAR.

Creativity is more than just pretty words and images. Many times, true creativity is developing a powerful business tool that moves business forward. Like most tourism and travel offices across the country, Washington State Tourism was faced with promoting tourism while keeping up with the current travel trend of “near-cations”—brief getaways near people’s home and work. This challenge proved a promising opportunity for Washington, because it’s full of accessible, yet remote, destinations across the state. To take advantage of this, GreenRubino helped Washington State Tourism with the creation of a Tips and Trips website as a fun, engaging way to learn about the hidden treasures found within the state. This online showcase relies on user-generated content to promote the diverse adventures throughout the state. This is a proven engagement strategy; research shows that peer recommendations are viewed as highly credible and trustworthy sources of travel information, trumping even traditional PR. On the Washington Tips and Trips site, users are able to upload their vacation itinerary, photos and descriptions, and even label them with one of many activity categories. Even the governor participated. That’s so gubernatorial.